Injury ends season for $19M man

Connections

It was the Bengals' version of Black Friday. A shaken Ki-Jana Carter bowed his head in front of the microphones, bit his lip and apologized to the fans of Cincinnati for being unable to play for them in 1995.

"It's probably one of the worst days of my life," the rookie running back said Friday after limping into a Spinney Field news conference with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that will sideline him for the season.

"I'm deeply sorry; it's just a freak thing," Carter said. "I'm sorry that I haven't played at Riverfront yet. (The fans) haven't seen me yet. . . . I promise when I come back that they'll see a good running back. I'll be fine. And when I get back, they'll be excited."

That's the big question, with Carter expected to undergo major reconstructive surgery and then a tedious rehabilitation process that could take seven months to a year:

Can he be the same outstanding back who was the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, the player who was paid $19.2 million to save the franchise for Cincinnati?

Or will he suffer the same fate as Ickey Woods and other backs who returned as mere shadows of themselves?

"That's what everybody's asking," said Robert Heidt, the Bengals team doctor who examined Carter. "I don't think any good surgeon is going to tell you that you're not going to have some reminders of surgery, some scarring. This is significant."

Bengals General Manager Mike Brown, who had pinned his hopes on reviving the town's interest in his team on Carter, said that as disappointments go, "I'd rank it up there high on a scale of 1 to 10, maybe close to the 10 number.

Head coach Dave Shula called it "a nightmare."

"People weren't giving us much chance before, and they

certainly won't now," he said.

Carter injured his knee on his third carry in his first game, the Bengals' 20-13 exhibition loss Thursday to the Lions in Detroit.

He walked off the field and jogged on the sidelines, but he was stunned Friday morning when a magnetic resonance imaging test (MRI) revealed the tear - one of the most serious injuries for a running back.

Carter fought back tears as he remembered the moment.

"As soon as he said 'tear,' I didn't hear anything else,"

Carter said. "That's the worst thing you can think about happening

to someone's leg. You see so many stories about it. I just said, 'Oh, boy.' There was dead silence."

Heidt left open the slight possibility that surgery wouldn't be required. Buffalo Bills back Thurman Thomas wore a brace for his ACL injury instead of having surgery. But Carter's agent, Leigh Steinberg, said the tear is complete enough to require surgery.

Comeback possible

Carter will get a second opinion in the next few days from noted surgeon James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., who most likely would do the operation.

Carter said he thinks the injury occurred when his cleats stuck in the synthetic turf, before he was hit by Lions tackle Robert Porcher.

"Ki-Jana's one apprehension on draft day was that he didn't want to play on artificial turf," said Steinberg.

The ACL is what allows a running back to stop and restart quickly. The rope-like ligament crosses from the back of the femur to the front of the tibia. The ACL is one of two main ligaments in the knee that control motion and act as a brace against abnormal motions. The other is the posterior cruciate ligament.

A few running backs have come back successfully from ACL surgery. Minnesota's Terry Allen racked up a 1,000-yard season on two reconstructed knees, and Seattle's Curt

Warner had Pro Bowl seasons after ACL surgery.

"They say it might hamper me," Carter said, "but I always come back from an injury thinking I'll be better."

Bengals stadium were still on target. The Bengals are lobbying for a sales tax increase.

"I don't think for an instance that we lost this stadium," he said. "This project goes beyond any individual, including Ki-Jana and myself. This stadium is something that stands on its own merit."

Brown conceded that Carter's loss would make it "harder to sell. . . . We are going to have to do it without a player we felt was going to help a lot."

Said Tim Mara, who leads the petition drive to put the stadium tax to a public vote: "It's unfortunate. I would hope neither success or failure of one individual would change things. I hope taxpayers vote based upon a financial decision, not an emotional one."

"We put our money down and we made the bet," Brown said. "Sometimes you win, and sometimes you don't. At least for this year, this is one we won't win. It doesn't mean it won't come around in the future."

Carter keeps his $7 million signing bonus and $757,000 salary for this year. After that, his compensation depends upon playing again.

Carter would be the first No. 1 pick to miss his rookie season because of an injury since the first combined NFL-AFL draft in 1967.